Chocolate Watch Band : No Way Out : 1967

The Chocolate Watchband got its start at Foothill College in Los Altos, California in 1965, when guitarists Mark Loomis and Ned Torney , both ex-members of the Chapparals , joined in a fledgling outfit that later included Danny Phay (vocals), Rich Young (bass), Jo Kemling (organ), and drummer Peter Curry (soon succeeded by Gary Andrijasevich).

This early Los Gatos-based version of the Watchband emerged in 1965, just as the British Invasion was starting to crest, and, with their raw, lean sound built on British Invasion-style R&B and pop/rock, achieved great popularity at the college and the surrounding area.

They never made any official, commercial recordings, but a pair of demo tracks that surfaced in the '90s reveals a solid performing unit with some inspired playing especially on the lead guitar and an attractive if not necessarily bracing overall sound, and a lot of potential.

They were a unique phenomenon , based on their recordings, they were a world-class garage punk act, if that's possible, beating the Ramones to the punch by a decade, and showing more consistency than, say, the Litter, and more originality and range than the Shadows of Knight.

While American bands of the period usually either detoured into folk-rock on their way to more elusive flights of languid psychedelia, or fell back on gimmicks and dumbing down their image (à la Paul Revere & the Raiders) to sell records, the Watchband retained an amazing purity of purpose and intent , they owed a considerable (and undeniable) debt to the Rolling Stones for various elements of their sound, but they kept pushing the envelope, at least in intensity, and may even have matched the Stones in their psychedelic ventures when the time came to ante-up musically !

Label : Sundazed Music – LP 5306
Format : Vinyl, LP, Album
Country : USA
Made in USA
Tower ST 5096 (1967)

TRACKS

SIDE ONE

A1 Let's Talk About Girls (Written-By – M. Freiser)
A2 In The Midnight Hour ( Written-By – S. Cropper, W. Pickett)
A3 Come On ( Written-By – C. Berry)
A4 Dark Side Of The Mushroom (Written-By – B. Cooper, R. Podolor )
A5 Hot Dusty Road ( Written-By – S. Stills)

SIDE TWO

B1 Are You Gonna Be There (At The Love Inn) (Written-By – D. Bennett, E. McElroy)
B2 Gone And Passed By (Written-By – Dave Aguilar)
B3 No Way Out (Written-By – E. Cobb )
B4 Expo 2000 (Written-By – R. Podolor)
B5 Gossamer Wings (Written-By – D. Bennett, E. McElroy)

FLAC Size : 179 MB

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Global Entropy
Pirate Industry
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